While now only few application markets are evolving really fast and offering a good amount of content to users, the GSMA together with three major hardware manufacturers have decided to create the Wholesale Applications Community, which should provide extended app-related content to around three billion customers.

"The GSMA is fully supportive of the Wholesale Applications Community, which will build a new, open ecosystem to spur the creation of applications that can be used regardless of device, operating system or operator," said Rob Conway, CEO and Member of the Board, GSMA. "This approach is completely in line with the principles of the GSMA, and in fact leverages the work we have already undertaken on open network APIs (OneAPI). This is tremendously exciting news for our industry and will serve to catalyse the development of a range of innovative cross-device, cross-operator applications."

Suddenly, the word “Globalization” comes to mind, but nevermind that; what these 24 telecom operators want to do for the whole world is actually not a bad idea. They all met at the Mobile World Congress and decided to take advantage of the three billion customers that they have access to and create a huge worldwide market for apps that almost anybody can have access to, instead of individual and smaller ones, with limited access possibilities.

Jonathan Arber, Senior Research Analyst at independent analyst house, IDC, stated that "Attracting and retaining developers is vital for any application store offering to succeed. However, mobile application developers currently face a high level of fragmentation in the industry, in terms of both technology platforms, and individual operators' working practices. Developers want to meet the largest possible addressable market, as efficiently and painlessly as possible, and the Wholesale Applications Community initiative can meet these criteria by providing a simple, single point of access to a large number of operator storefronts. The initiative should also help to drive uptake of existing, open standards among developers, operators and manufacturers, thereby reducing fragmentation and benefiting the whole industry."

This newly formed alliance will use both JIL and OMTP BONDI requirements to transform them into a common standard within the 12 months to come. After this, the next step will be to make sure that all developers will be able to support the freshly created apps.


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